Announcing the emergence of Boycott Arizona Now

Announcing the emergence of Boycott Arizona Now
Unidos Por La Dignidad Humana

After a series of consultations in Phoenix, and Tucson and a visit to Douglas Arizona and Agua Prieta Sonora, the newly formed grassroots movement (BAN) Boycott Arizona Now (United for Human Dignity) decided to effectively call for a Boycott targeting the State of Arizona.

BAN is comprised of Latino grassroots community representatives. The representation includes Students, Day Laborers, and Neighborhood Representatives, Migrants, Church Parishioners and workers from all trades.

It was unanimously agreed that the Boycott will be permanent until Proposition 200 and all the anti-migrant laws are overturned by the voters, the state legislature, and the Governor of Arizona. Especially abhorrent is HB2592, a law prohibiting work centers in the State of Arizona, setting an anti-worker and anti-business precedent for the rest of the country. It is a slap on the face to cities grappling with day labor issues throughout the valley.

The Boycott initially will encompass three initial components:

A. The first component calls for a petition in Mexico to cancel the Arizona Cardinals first ever NFL regular season game outside of the United States in Mexico City’s famed Aztec Stadium. This boycott of the game not only targets the State of Arizona Racist Anti-Migrant laws but specifically protests the insensitivity of playing the game on October 2, the day Mexican people commemorate the 1968 Student Massacre in Tlatelolco during the 1968 Olympics. The official claims of students killed by government troops are over 400 dead and thousands of disappeared.
B. The second component targets visiting conventions and conferences as long as Proposition 200 continues to be law. We are asking conventioneers to reconsider coming to Arizona as long as Arizona Lawmakers criminalize the migrant community.
C. The Third Component is to petition future musical events and international sporting events to look elsewhere as long as Proposition 200 and its anti-migrant offspring are still in effect. We are asking them to look for alternative venues outside of Arizona or within the more than 20 Indigenous Nations within Arizona as an alternate site.

These three components are the first in a long list of objectives that will be made known in the process of consultations with the affected communities at the State, National and International realm.

We hope to bring to the forefront to the voters and the business communities the importance of the migrant community for the future of Arizona. Especially given the fact that the business community fought to keep out employer sanctions out of the Anti-Day Labor Law but did not lift a finger to defend the very people who bring prosperity to those industries. Once they successfully lobbied to keep out employer sanctions they took a neutral stance on anti-migrant legislation when they are the direct beneficiaries of the current state of affairs.

For more information contact: SALVADOR REZA, 602 743-3876